Defiance
by Magic Of Every Kind
Summary: Alternative movie scene - Stuttgart, Germany - Oneshot told from Loki's perspective. What if it had not been an old man to stand up to Loki, but a young girl?


**Remember that man in Stuttgart who stood up to Loki? Well, what if it had been a young girl...?**

**Enjoy! **

Loki stood on the balcony, watching the mortals as they gathered round to hear a man speak, not knowing that this would be the last time he ever uttered a word. There was music playing in the background, and granted it was nowhere near as sweet as Asgardian music, it did have a melody to it that was somewhat pleasing. How fitting it was that he would strike to the sound of a mortal symphony.

Turning, he moved quickly down the stairs. His pawns could not wait forever. With careless ease, he moved towards his target, twirling his staff before striking down a mortal guard. Grabbing the man, he pushed him roughly to a sculpture at the room's centre. The mortals gasped in shock around him as he flipped the man onto the stone counter, and he couldn't help but smile as he realised it could just as well be an altar. The mortals backed away, fearful but interested all the same, their damned curiosity preventing them from fleeing until they knew his power.

Ignoring them, he removed the contraption he'd bought and shook it out in one movement. The blades began twirling at once and a cry went up as he stabbed the man in the eye, the contraption sucking greedily at his eye as it copied the image and relayed to its partner.

The mortals, finally realising that something was wrong, began to stumble towards the exits, tripping over their fine dresses and suits. None of them tried to stop him, so he simply watched them flee, a smile playing about his lips.

His work complete, he put away the contraption, leaving the man for dead on the stone altar. Now was when the real fun began.

With deliberate slow movements he advanced on the terrified mortals who were still scrambling to run from the building. As he walked, he removed the mirage of magic that had cloaked him, allowing himself to slowly revert to his true state. That of a God. His great helmet on his head, the satanic horns rearing up behind him, and the delicate cloak and fine armour…truly he was a sight to behold.

But the mortals took not the time to look on him with awe, screaming and running from him like a flock of sheep to a wolf. How foolish and single-minded they were.

They ran to the other side of the road to a green, before stopping and turning back, their mortal inquisitiveness overtaking their fear once again. Walking out onto the road, Loki heard a siren approaching, the mortal law-keepers, the 'police' he believed they were known as. Without even looking up he pointed his staff, now a sceptre of power, towards the vehicle as it turned towards him. He glanced up slightly as it tilted up, skidding towards him and then falling over onto its back, sliding behind him, defeated. He strode purposefully towards the frightened mortals.

"Kneel before me," he said, magnifying his voice as he placed copies of himself strategically around the green. The look of shock on their faces as they saw more than one of him made him want to laugh aloud. They turned this way and that like frightened deer, unsure which way to turn as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by one man. Except he was no man.

"I said…" Loki stopped, banging his sceptre into the ground and lighting up his copies, causing the mortals to cry out again in terror, "KNEEL." Finally, they got the message, turning towards him, each one with fear in their eyes. Those closest to him kneeled at once, and the gesture rippled back until each and every mortal was on their knees before him. Loki smiled, his heart crowing with delight. Raising his hands, he looked over the beings he would soon rule, how easily they obeyed him.

"Is this not simpler?" he asked, walking towards them, "is this not your natural state?" They remained frozen, all of them afraid to meet his eyes.

"It's the unspoken truth of humanity; that you crave subjugation," he went on, revelling in the power he held over him, the God among the mortals, "the bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power…for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end…you will always kneel."

"Mimi, get down," a voice whispered fearfully from the crowd and he looked over in interest to see one person still standing. A young girl, no more than a child in Midgardian years. A boy younger than she was on his knees beside her, tugging desperately at her clothing, trying to force her down. But the girl stood firm, staring at Loki with wide eyes.

"Miranda, get down!" shouted a voice, a man from some way to his left. Her father, perhaps?

Loki raised an eyebrow at her, a warning flashing in his eyes. She was shaking, he could see that, and her eyes were overflowing with fear…but there was something else. A quiet strength residing in her that marked her out from others. One speck of blood on a sheet of pure white.

"Why?" she murmured, her voice trembling. She swallowed, obviously trying to find more strength.

"Why should I kneel?" she asked, projecting her voice though it still shook with terror. Loki smiled inwardly, secretly pleased he'd found one to stand up to him. That way he could strike more fear into their hearts when he cut her down like the animal she was.

"You have done nothing to earn my respect," she went on, getting stronger with each passing second, "why should I kneel?" Loki pointed his sceptre at her, relishing in the way she stiffened, her body shaking like a leaf with fear she had no control over. But still, she did not kneel.

"I desire not your respect," Loki told her quietly, "now kneel…on pain of death." Something sparked in the girls eyes and to his great surprise, she smiled. Her fists clenched as she met his gaze as fearlessly as she could.

"I might be afraid to die but I do not fear death," she announced solemnly, "I know where I'm going. But for you…there's no light at the end of the tunnel." Loki's eyes narrowed at her words, and he knew not whether to laugh at her foolishness or strike her down for her impudence. Mayhaps he could do both.

Loki grinned and gestured to those around him,

"Look to the youth, people," he pointed the sceptre once again at the girl and he saw a stain appear around her crotch as the tip of his staff lit up, "let her be an example." The girl whimpered and her eyes widened in fear so the whites shone through as clear as day. Oh what power this was, to hold such sway over life and death, to be feared above all.

A beam shot from his staff, heading towards the girl in a blow that would have ended her life…had not something dropped before her in the last second. The beam rocketed off back towards him and Loki fell to the ground as pain shot through his abdomen. Looking up, he saw a man in a blue body suit getting to his feet, a round shield held before him.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else," the man said, walking steadily towards him, "we ended up disagreeing." Loki got to his feet, sneering in recognition,

"The soldier," he chuckled and stood up straight, holding his staff beside him, "a man out of time." He noticed some of the mortals around him getting to their feet, their fear evaporating as they saw that one had come to their rescue. How he hated to be trumped in such a way, but he had not the time to dwell on such matters.

"I'm not the one who's out of time," the man muttered with a small smile. There was a noise in the air and Loki looked up to see a helicopter circling the green. As he watched, a gun descended from its belly, pointing directly at him,

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," came a woman's voice. With one smooth movement, Loki raised his sceptre and fired at the helicopter, aiming to bring it down or cripple it. The vehicle just swerved out of the way and the beam smashed into a building some way behind it. The soldier lunged at him and all at once Loki was engaged in battle. The mortals cried out again in fear but he had no time to enjoy their screams as he focused on bringing the soldier down. Fighting with his sceptre, he beat the soldier back as the mortals scattered like leaves to the wind. Only one remained, the girl, standing well back from the fight but watching with a hard look in her eyes. Loki wanted nothing more than to wipe the look off her face, but before he could kill her the soldier had lunged at him again. They fought on briefly, but the so called 'superhuman' was no match for the God of Magic. Knocking him back, Loki advanced on the soldier as he got to his feet. Placing his staff on the man's neck, he smiled devilishly,

"Kneel," he hissed, applying pressure as the soldier gasped beneath him.

"Not today," the soldier muttered, then batted Loki's sceptre away and leapt up, swinging his foot around in a blow that smashed into his chest, temporarily winding the God. Angered, Loki fought on, throwing the man away some distance, smiling as he crashed to the ground.

Out of nowhere, the sound of mortal music filled the air, a horrible screeching noise that set Loki's ears on edge. Something came flying through the air towards him but before the God could react he was knocked off his feet by a blast, sending him smacking into the stone steps behind him. Loki groaned as pain washed over him and he gritted his teeth in anger. Sitting up, he watched as a suit of armour landed before him, gold and red in appearance. All kinds of weapons emerged from the suit, pointing directly at him.

"Make a move, reindeer games," the suit muttered, and Loki realised it was a man. By this time, the soldier had recovered and stood beside the man, his shield raised defensively. Seeing how outnumbered he was, Loki slowly raised his hands in surrender, letting his full armour fade away to something more fitting for his submissive state.

"Good move," the man in the suit told him, the weaponry retracting into his armour.

"Mr Stark," the soldier greeted him, a little out of breath from the fight.

"Cap'n," Stark nodded back.

At the back of his mind, Loki seethed with rage that he'd been beaten by two mortals. Behind them he could still see the girl who'd opposed him, taking shelter behind a bush. Why had she not fled with the others? He didn't know, nor did he care. Instead, he took comfort from the fact that his next step would proceed smoothly from his imprisonment with the mortals. All in all, everything was going according to plan.

Yet even as he let the mortals take him as their 'prisoner', the girls eyes did not once leave him. Against his will, her words echoed in his mind, reverberating through his thoughts as if stamping a promise on his future, '_but for you…there's no light at the end of the tunnel.'_

Loki frowned.

**Reviews and critiques are very much appreciated, thank you :)**

**If you're interested in more Loki from me, I'm writing a multi-chapter story involving him and an OC (not a pairing) and you can find it on my profile and it's titled 'Silver Wings, Silver Tongue'. Happy reading!**


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